"No one is against two-story homes. No one is against new buildings. No one is against Victorians. We are just against buildings that are not in keeping with the harmony of the neighborhood. —Gary Kovacic, design review unit chairman"
"Barton's plight reflects problems that some Arcadia builders and real estate people say they face in trying to build new homes in this quiet bedroom community. They say that while they try to meet the demand for larger homes, architectural review boards fight to prevent any dramatic change in the neighborhoods they are set up to represent."
Rosalee Barton, an Arcadia real estate broker, designed a two-story English Tudor-style home that complied with all city zoning and building codes. However, the Santa Anita Village homeowners association's architectural review board rejected her proposal three times, citing concerns that the house was too massive and incompatible with the existing one-story ranch-style homes in the neighborhood. After multiple revisions reducing the home from 3,600 to 3,200 square feet and changing the design to ranch-style, the board finally approved the plans. This situation reflects broader tensions in Arcadia between builders seeking to construct larger homes and architectural review boards committed to maintaining neighborhood harmony and consistency.
#architectural-review-boards #neighborhood-zoning-conflicts #residential-development #community-design-standards
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